Nowadays there is no shortage of pundits, economic or otherwise, warning of impending disaster. ... My view is different: 2012 ... will be a year of muddling through.
Many people think that 2012 will be the make-or-break year for Europe – either a quantum leap in European integration,... or the eurozone’s disintegration, igniting the mother of all financial crises.
In fact, neither scenario is plausible. The collapse of the eurozone would, of course, be an economic and financial calamity. But that is precisely why the European Central Bank will overcome its reluctance and intervene in the Italian and Spanish bond markets, and why the Italian and Spanish governments will, in the end, use that breathing space to complete the reforms that the ECB requires as a quid pro quo. ...
While the eurozone is unlikely to collapse in 2012, there will be no definitive answer to the question of whether the euro will survive, because there will be no quantum leap in European integration. Treaty revisions take time to draft – and more time to ratify. ...
It is a sad state of affairs when a recession qualifies as muddling through. But such is the European condition. ... But muddling through cannot continue forever. Europe needs to draw a line under its crisis and figure out how to grow. The US needs to overcome its political polarization and policy gridlock. And China needs to rebalance its economy – shifting from construction and exports to household consumption as the main engine of growth – while it still has time.
Of course, if none of this happens – or if not enough of it does – 2013 could turn out to be the annus horribilis of the perma-bears’ dreams.
Quelle: Project Syndicate
